Turbo Coil Refrigeration System

ABSTRACT

A refrigeration system uses a plurality of cross blowers or air blower turbines place upon either side of a unique cross flow motor. A moveable air flow diverter allows the system to be configured for most industrial and home use applications.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a utility application based upon U.S. patent application Ser. No. 61/407,572,512, entitled “Turbo Coil Refrigeration System” filed on Oct. 28, 2010. This related application is incorporated herein by reference and made a part of this application. If any conflict arises between the disclosure of the invention in this utility application and that in the related provisional application, the disclosure in this utility application shall govern. Moreover, the inventors incorporate herein by reference any and all patents, patent applications, and other documents hard copy or electronic, cited or referred to in this application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The invention generally relates to refrigeration systems. More particularly, the invention relates to means and methods of cooled air from evaporation coils to targeted area for cooling, such as the contents of a food storage structure.

(2) Description of the Related Art

Other refrigeration systems are known in the related art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,997,005 by Haasis issued on Feb. 14, 2006, discloses a refrigeration system with a sliding sub-unit comprising a centrifugal fan, fan motor, additional fan for cooling the fan motor, a flange and track slider assembly and a collection of springy metal stripes used to secure the sub-unit into a housing unit. Unfortunately, the system disclosed by Haasis leads to added noise and motor vibration due to the use of springy metal strips to secure the sub-unit to the housing. In order to achieve a secure and vibration resistant fit of the sub-unit, silicone or other materials are commonly used within the flange and track slider assembly. When a fan motor needs replacement, the typical service technician will not have the necessary sealants, which results in a newly installed motor causing unacceptable noise and vibration.

Another shortfall in the Haasis system is the inefficiency of using one motor to turn a single traditional centrifugal fan. Moreover, the overall design of the Hassis system requires the use of a second motor cooling fan to cool the motor also turning the centrifugal fan. The added load to the motor from the second cooling fan often creates more heat than what is removed by the second fan. Furthermore, the coil configuration of the Haasis system fails to adapt to varying food storage containers or other applications with untraditional dimensions and access problems. Moreover, the overall configuration of the Haasis system leads to a heavy cooling system making installation difficult in overhead locations.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes shortfalls in the related art by presenting an unobvious and unique combination and configuration of coils, blowers, a blower motor and other components.

One of the main advantages of this invention is the creation of a twin cross flow blower system comprising two air blower turbines placed on either side of a unique cross flow motor. The twin blower turbines are sometimes referred to herein as a “cross flow blower” and are sometimes named “cross flow blower 1” and cross flow blower 2. The placement of a cross flow motor between the two disclosed cross flow blowers has achieved unexpectedly favorable results in efficiently moving cooled air to a targeted area.

The cross flow blowers feature a new and efficient air blade configuration as well as a highly moveable air flow diverter. The moveable air flow diverter allows the disclosed cross flow system to be adapted to many configurations to fit most applications.

The disclosed configuration of a center cross flow motor flanked by two cross flow blowers placed over a compact coil system provides clear advantages over the related art in terms of weight and size.

The disclosed coil systems also provide unexpectedly favorable results as they have been configured to adapt to untraditional locations.

These and other objects and advantages will be made apparent when considering the following detailed specification when taken in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical food storage container.

FIG. 2 is a sectional and elevation view of one embodiment of the disclosed invention.

FIG. 3 presents several views of a disclosed housing assembly.

FIG. 4 presents a sectional view of a disclosed cross flow blower.

FIG. 5 presents a bottom view of a disclosed cross flow blower.

FIG. 6 presents a side view of a disclosed cross flow blower and attachment point to a cross flow motor.

FIG. 7 is a perspective of one embodiment of the invention being held by the fingertips of a person.

FIG. 8 is an elevation view of one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is an expanded view of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the output vents of one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11 depicts various parts of a turbo coil system.

FIG. 12 depicts various parts of a turbo coil system.

FIG. 13 depicts a front view of a turbo coil system.

FIG. 14 depicts various parts of a turbo coil system.

FIG. 15 depicts various parts of a turbo coil system.

FIG. 16 depicts various parts of a turbo coil system.

REFERENCE NUMERALS IN THE DRAWINGS

-   10 a typical food storage structure -   18 front panel of a food storage structure -   12 top panel of a food storage structure -   20 void or door window used to access food within a food storage     structure -   42 thermostat -   48 evaporation coils -   100 cross flow blower 1 -   101 bottom of cross flow blower -   102 rotational plate on side of cross flow blower, used to attached     to cross flow motor -   150 cross flow blower 2 -   300 cross flow motor -   400 components of housing assembly -   401 side panel of housing assembly -   402 side sheet of housing assembly

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is directed to certain specific embodiments of the invention. However, the invention can be embodied in a multitude of different ways as defined and covered by the claims and their equivalents. In this description, reference is made to the drawings wherein like parts are designated with like numerals throughout.

Unless otherwise noted in this specification or in the claims, all of the terms used in the specification and the claims will have the meanings normally ascribed to these terms by workers in the art.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in a sense of “including, but not limited to.” Words using the singular or plural number also include the plural or singular number, respectively. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application.

The above detailed description of embodiments of the invention is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, while steps are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments may perform routines having steps in a different order. The teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to other systems, not only the systems described herein. The various embodiments described herein can be combined to provide further embodiments. These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of the detailed description.

Any and all the above references and U.S. patents and applications are incorporated herein by reference. Aspects of the invention can be modified, if necessary, to employ the systems, functions and concepts of the various patents and applications described above to provide yet further embodiments of the invention.

These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of the above detailed description. In general, the terms used in the following claims, should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the above detailed description explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the invention encompasses the disclosed embodiments and all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention under the claims.

Referring to FIG. 1 a typical food storage container 10 is shown with a front panel 18, side panel 14, a top panel 12 and voids or doors 20 used to access the interior. Variations of the illustrated food storage container may be found in supermarkets, restaurants and other places requiring the refrigeration of food.

Typically cooling units are placed within the back section of a food storage container introduce evaporator coils carrying a coolant in expanding gas form. As gas expands, the gas cools and absorb heat from the coils, the coils in turn absorb heat from the surrounding air. After absorbing heat, the gas within the coils travels outside of the food storage container. In this outside area, a compressor and condenser transform the gas into liquid form. An outside fan may be used to blow ambient air over the outside coils. On the return route to the food storage container, the liquid within the coil system passes through an expansion value wherein the liquid expands to gas, travels within the food storage container, cools and then transfers heat to the outside of the food storage container.

Coils containing gas and found within the food storage container are sometimes called evaporation coils 48 and are shown in FIG. 2 on the bottom of the disclosed system. The disclosed system sits within a food storage container or other application and accepts coolant that is compressed, allows the fluid to expand to gas within the evaporation coils and then outputs the gas to an exterior system as described above.

A key advantage of the disclosed system is the efficient movement of air over the evaporation coils and into the food storage area. Found at the top of FIG. 2 is a disclosed cross flow motor 300 which powers two cross flow blowers 100 and 150. The components of FIG. 2 are arranged such that they fit into a housing that may be approximately 4.5 inches deep, 21.5 inches across and 10 to 12 inches high. But, other dimensions and configurations are contemplated. In the preferred embodiment, all of the components of FIG. 2 are bolted or otherwise firmly attached to the housing.

The use of an extra fan to cool the motor as disclosed in the Haasis system is not needed in the system presented herein. Moreover, in order to achieve a compact size and sturdy construction, the disclosed system does not adopt the configuration of a sub-unit or the use of tracks to install components. Such a cumbersome system of attachment would detract from the compact and lightweight feature of the disclosed system.

Referring to FIG. 3 the general shapes and contemplated dimensions of the housing assembly 400 are shown. Alternative configurations for the housing assembly are contemplated and do not detract from the benefits of the disclosed system.

Referring to FIG. 4 a section view of one embodiment of a cross flow blower 100 is shown as well as an attached cross flow motor 300. FIG. 5 presents a plan view of the bottom side of a cross blower. FIG. 6 presents a side view of a cross flow blower and rotational plate 102 ready for attachment to a cross flow motor 300.

FIG. 7 presents a top perspective view of one embodiment of the disclosed invention. The cool air exit vents are covered in mesh and the entire housing assembly is supported by the fingertips of person of average strength.

FIG. 8 illustrates a more detailed view of FIG. 2 and shows a working model of one embodiment of the disclosed invention. FIG. 8 shows a void area at the bottom to allow entry of ambient air that passes through the condenser coils and into the cross flow blowers.

FIG. 9 presents a close up view of the cross flow motor 300 while attached to both cross flow blowers. The disclosed configuration places the cross flow motor 300 in close proximity to the evaporation coils, thus the extra motor cooling fan of the Haasis system is not needed. Also the surface area and shape of the disclosed cross flow motor provides ample motor cooling with excellent motor performance.

FIG. 10 presents two cool air output vents adjacent to the two cross flow blowers.

FIGS. 11 to 17 depict various parts and aspects of a turbo coil system. 

1. A refrigeration system comprising: a) a cross flow motor; b) a plurality of cross flow blowers attached to the cross flow motor; c) a rotational plate attached to the cross flow motor, the rotation plate having one or more air channels, with the air channels placed next to the cross flow blowers; d) a thermostat attached to evaporation coils; and e) a housing connected to the evaporation coils, thermostat and cross flow motor. 